Aral Balkan

Tim O'Reilly has an interesting post titled Why Using ShopSavvy Might Not Be So Savvy in which he states that using applications like ShopSavvy and RedLaser to do price-checking while in a store is ultimately unsustainable as widespread adoption of this habit will eventually lead to brick-and-mortar stores going out of business.

I got alerted to the article by a friend since my own iPhone app, 'avit, is mentioned in the comments by Michael R. Bernstein:

There probably isn't much to be done for brick-and-mortar stores except to emphasize the possibility of walking out of the store with the product *right now*, as opposed to waiting for a delivery, but that requires more emphasis on books and other merchandise as desirable physical objects. Because when you toss ebooks and other non-physically-embodied formats into the mix, even that slim advantage goes away, and you can get immediate electronic delivery.

We're already seeing moves in this direction such as 'avit: http://avitapp.com/

Now, 'avit is interesting because it tries to point the user to an electronic copy that the user (or their employer) have already paid for (via a Safari subscription), rather than trying to drive a new ebook purchase, but if Safari doesn't have the book in question, it does redirect you to Google Product Search.

Tim's definitely got a point, and it was made all the more personal for me when Borders, including the local one I frequented in Brighton, shut down recently. However, I feel that this is simply the reality that the advent of electronic reading and the Internet is presenting us with. O'Reilly's own Safari Books Online service, for example, made 'Avit possible and online services like Safari compete directly with brick-and-mortar bookstores. What bookstores need to do in this new age is to find new ways to compete. And I sure hope that they do because I, for one, love bookstores.

So how can traditional brick-and-mortar bookstores compete?

The easiest way is one that I've already begun to notice in some stores: they appear to block mobile signals. I don't know if it is by design or coincidence (or just crappy o2 reception), for example, but I get no signal whatsoever in my local HMV. That, combined with not providing WiFi access is one way to battle the lowest-price look-up issue. However, it feels like a shortsighted one.

So, beyond blocking mobile signals, what can bookstores (and other media retailers) do?

Here are some initial thoughts:

• Provide a price-matching service themselves (even if they can't match it, they might be able to offer a discount).
• How about additional perks? Free coffee at the bookstore's cafe with the purchase of a book.
• Make it possible to browse and/or buy books electronically on my iPhone or other similar device.
• Transform the bookstore into more of a book/cafe experience (integrate further with the cafe).
• Focus on local events: book clubs, readings, signings, etc.

I realize they're not much to go on so please feel free to leave your own in the comments.

Comments

• Totally agree. When people start using things like iPods and eReaders, they don't go back to cumbersome CDs and bulky books, so it's not even a case of book stores vs home delivery. In the UK we've lost Borders, Virgin Megastore then Zavvi (CDs and DVDs suffering a similar fate), just Waterstones and specialist stores in University towns remaining? Perhaps the death knell is coming in the shape of the 3rd-gen e-readers. Sony eReader made me stop buying paper/hardbacks because it was a 500gram bookshelf, Kindle (network enabled devices) added another killer feature in immediacy, so 3rd-gen looks to be ready to strike the final blow? To be honest I don't even think it'll be eReaders, there's gonna be so many Android and Apple smart devices out there I can't see people buying separate readers once they get those insanely long-life batteries in some devices. When I started seeing the computing shelves dwindle to 2 and then 1 stand at my local Borders it was pretty clear the end was coming, it only took 2 years. There is absolutely nothing they can do except provide for an ever decreasing, aging audience, who still prefer the touch and smell of physical media. I like the café idea, but they'd have a bigger challenge in competing with existing well known cafés who already offer free wifi which you can use to buy new books on your device directly (if you don't have 3G), so I'm not sure what the draw would be over those. I know this post wasn't about paper vs ebooks, but another interesting aspect is now that devices like the Nook run standard OS's like android, we can finally move on to the next phase, interactive books, a step up from those (excellent) choose your own adventures, great for kids in particular. :)

  by Richard Leggett on 2009-12-26 16:07:15

• I also lament the passing of Borders. The physical store here in Edinburgh finally closed a few days ago, but it had started down the road to closure many months if not years ago. There are so many books "out there" that even a store as big as Borders cannot hope to stock a useful sample; and trying to do so has a high capital cost. The sale of books is amazingly well suited to sustaining a single global marketplace (there is only one Amazon, but multiple retailers and distribution points behind the facade); and, on the whole, books are not an impulse buy - you can wait for them to arrive. Borders had realised this and tried to change its position, but it was fighting a losing battle. So it's not the passing of a bookstore that I mind, nor the passing of a coffee shop (I can actually survive a trip out without stopping for over-priced coffee). What we have lost, which I don't think can be replaced by an on-line store, is Borders' huge selection of periodicals and magazines. These are impulse buys that depend on their "kerb appeal". There's nowhere in this capital city that could rival Borders or replace it now that it has gone. Stores can have USPs that the internet cannot replace or recreate. For example: * I have bought clothes on line a few times and almost without exception been disappointed either by the quality or the fit. I know a lot of people do get this to work for them, but I can't see the local clothes store disappearing. People want to feel the quality, try the fit, and see if it all works for them. * Then there's the knowledge that a boutique owner can impart to an individual customer just cannot be recreated on-line. "I used these boots when I walked the trail and I found ..." or "this third-party flash won't work with that Japanese camera." You won't get this in Marks and Spencers. Finally, all that stuff about a place for books and coffee? Try your local public library.

  by Mike on 2009-12-27 09:37:27

• Aren't you losing customers by requiring a Safari Books Online account? Who has one of those?

  by leef on 2009-12-31 15:48:46

• Traditional (paper books) will always have a place. It is hard to replace the feel of a real book with one on a machine. There maybe are a few book genres that may succumb to the new technology over time, and be less available as paper copies (maybe), but there will always be those who want the real thing. Whether that be a rare book, or just as a piece of furniture on the shelf, or even an investment in some cases, I think paper books will always have place.

  by Booksforever on 2012-02-17 07:15:59